EP3848772A2

EP3848772A2 - Reconfigurable series-shunt ldo

Info

Publication number: EP3848772A2
Application number: EP20203119.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Po-Jung CHANG; Yan-Jiun CHEN; Chih-Hong Lou
Original assignee: MediaTek Inc
Current assignee: MediaTek Inc
Priority date: 2020-01-09
Filing date: 2020-10-21
Publication date: 2021-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2040-10-21
Also published as: EP3848772A3; TWI751826B; TW202127784A; EP3848772B1; US11526186B2; CN113110665A; US20210216092A1; CN113110665B

Abstract

A low-dropout regulator (LDO) capable of providing high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) and good reverse isolation. The LDO may include a core circuitry and a reverse isolation circuitry. The core circuitry may include a PSRR circuitry coupled to an output node and configured to provide high PSRR at the output node. The reverse isolation circuitry may be configured to provide good reverse isolation at the output node by, for example, providing current in response to ripples at the output node. The reverse isolation circuitry may be configured with bandwidth higher than that of the core circuitry such that it can provide fast transient response. The reverse isolation circuitry may be configurable and/or reconfigurable for a desirable reverse isolation performance. The reverse isolation circuitry may be configurable and/or reconfigurable to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62/958,770, filed January 9, 2020 and titled "RECONFIGURABLE SERIES-SHUNT LDO," which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to low-dropout regulators (LDOs).

BACKGROUND

A regulator converts an unstable power supply voltage into a stable power supply voltage. A low dropout regulator (LDO) has a low input-to-output voltage difference between an input terminal where an unstable power supply voltage is inputted and an output terminal where a stable power supply voltage is outputted. "Dropout voltage" refers to the input-to-output voltage difference, whereby the regulator ceases to regulate against further reductions in input voltage. Ideally, the dropout voltage should be as low as possible, to allow the input voltage to be relatively low, while still maintaining regulation.

SUMMARY

Low-dropout regulators (LDOs) with high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) and good reverse isolation are provided.
Some embodiments relate to a low-dropout regulator comprising a core circuitry providing an output voltage to an output node; and a reverse isolation circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to provide a current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry in response to ripples at the output node.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry is configured with bandwidth higher than that of the core circuitry such that the reverse isolation circuitry responds to the ripples at the output node faster than the core circuitry.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry is configured such that a current flowing through the core circuitry is constant regardless the ripples at the output node or an alternating current (AC) component of the current flowing through the core circuitry is smaller than an AC component required to respond to the ripples at the output node.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry adjusts the current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry based on the magnitude of the ripples at the output node.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry comprises a transistor coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the transistor of the reverse isolation circuitry is a plurality of transistors connected in parallel.
In some embodiments, the core circuitry comprises a transistor coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the transistor of the core circuitry is a pass transistor receiving a power supply voltage to generate the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the core circuitry comprises a direct current (DC) circuitry coupled to the output node and comprising a power transistor configured to provide the output voltage at the output node, and a power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to provide a high PSRR
In some embodiments, the PSRR circuitry comprises an operational amplifier configured to provide a gate voltage based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node, and a capacitor coupled to the gate voltage.
Some embodiments relate to a low-dropout regulator comprising a core circuitry providing an output voltage to an output node; and a reverse isolation circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to adjust a current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry in response to ripples at the output node.
In some embodiments, the current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry is adjusted at least in part to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry comprises a plurality of transistors connected in parallel, and one or more of the plurality of transistors are turned on depending on a tradeoff between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry comprises a transistor coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the core circuitry comprises a transistor coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the transistor of the core circuitry is a pass transistor receiving a power supply voltage to generate the output voltage at the output node.
In some embodiments, the core circuitry comprises a direct current (DC) circuitry coupled to the output node and comprising a power transistor configured to provide the output voltage at the output node, and a power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to provide a high PSRR
In some embodiments, the PSRR circuitry comprises an operational amplifier configured to provide a gate voltage based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node, and a capacitor coupled to the gate voltage.
In some embodiments, the core circuitry comprises a decrease gain circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to reduce a gain of the DC circuitry.
Some embodiments relate to a low-dropout regulator comprising a core circuitry configured to provide an output voltage to an output node; and a reverse isolation circuitry coupled to the output node and configured to provide a current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry. The current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry is configurable and/or reconfigurable.
These techniques may be used alone or in any suitable combination. The foregoing summary is provided by way of illustration and is not intended to be limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system with low dropout regulators (LDOs), according to some embodiments.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a low dropout regulator, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an LDO, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an LDO, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an LDO, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an RF spur measurement result of a conventional LDO.
FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of illustrating an RF spur measurement result of an LDO, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating reverse isolation performance of a conventional LDO.
FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating reverse isolation performance of an LDO, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are low-dropout regulators (LDOs) with high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) and good reverse isolation. The inventors have recognized and appreciated that conventional LDOs are designed to trade off between PSRR performance and reverse isolation performance. One type of conventional LDO may sacrifice reverse isolation performance for high PSRR. Alternatively, another type of conventional LDO may trade off PSRR performance for good reverse isolation. Further, a conventional LDO with good reverse isolation may consume more power than a conventional LDO with high PSRR.
The inventors have developed LDOs that can have high PSRR (e.g., at least 30 dB in 2 MHz bandwidth) and good reverse isolation (e.g., at least 10 dB) at the same time. In some embodiments, the LDOs may be configurable and/or reconfigurable for a desirable reverse isolation performance. In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry may be configurable and/or reconfigurable to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry.
A system may include one or more low dropout regulators (LDOs) configured to provide stable power supply voltages to respective loading circuits. FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 with multiple LDOs, according to some embodiments. The system 100 may receive a power supply V_IN from one or more power supplies including, for example, one or more batteries. The system 100 may include one or more LDOs, each of which may receive an input power supply V_IN and provide an output power supply V_OUT to a respective loading circuit. While the voltage difference between the input power supply V_IN and output power supply voltage V_OUT may be low, the output power supply V_OUT may be a more stable voltage compared to the input power supply V_IN. The example illustrated in FIG. 1 shows two LDOs 112 and 114 providing power supplies V_OUT1 and V_OUT2 to an analog circuit 114 and a digital circuit 124, respectively.
The system 100 may include one or more analog circuit LDO branches 102 and one or more digital circuit LDO branches 104. Although the illustrated example shows that the LDO branches 102 and 104 share the power supply V_IN, it should be appreciated that an LDO branch may access a separate input power supply.
An analog circuit LDO branch 102 may include the LDO 112 providing power to the analog circuit 114. Examples of the analog circuit 114 may include a CMOS image sensor and/or a gimbal, which are provided for illustration purposes and should not limit the scope of an analog circuit. Similarly, a digital circuit LDO branch 104 may include the LDO 122 providing power to the digital circuit 124. Examples of the digital circuit 124 may include an electronic speed controller and/or a processor, which are provided for illustration purposes and should not limit the scope of a digital circuit. Although the illustrated example shows analog circuit 114 and digital circuit 124, it should be appreciated that an LDO may provide power to a mixed-signal circuit.
In some embodiments, the power supply V_IN may ideally be a direct current (DC) power supply. However, in reality, the power supply V_IN may include a DC component overlaid with ripples, which may be one of the reasons that the power supply V_IN is less stable and/or noisy. The ripples may be a composite waveform including harmonics of a fundamental frequency, which may be the line frequency of the original alternating current (AC) source that is used to produce the power supply V_IN. The ripples may be due to incomplete suppression of the alternating waveform after rectification of the AC source. The magnitudes of the ripples may depend on the harmonics the ripples may be associated with. The ripples may be caused by circuits including, for example, switched-mode power supplies, capacitor input rectifiers, and active rectifiers.
In some embodiments, an LDO may be configured to attenuate ripples from a power supply and provide a less noisy power to a loading circuit. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the LDO 112 may receive from the power supply V_IN a DC component 116D overlaid with an AC component 116A. The LDO 112 may be configured to provide the DC component 116D to the analog circuit 114. The LDO 112 may be configured to reduce the AC component 116A such that the analog circuit 114 receives an AC component 118A that has a magnitude smaller than the AC component 116A. The PSRR of the LDO 112 may specify a ratio between the AC power element 116A at the input of the LDO 112 and the AC power element 118A at the output of the LDO 112. The higher PSRR the LDO 112 has, the lower noise the analog circuit 114 would be subject to.
In some embodiments, an LDO may be configured to reduce crosstalk caused by ripples and provide good reverse isolation. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the analog circuit 124 may be affected by ripples caused by another circuit such as the digital circuit LDO branch 102 through a common ground and/or a common power supply. The digital circuit 124 may pass the ripples to the output of the LDO 122 as an AC component 126A. The LDO 122 may pass the AC component 126A to its input as an AC component 128A, which may be passed to and affect the analog circuit 114. Reverse isolation may mitigate the current a common ground and/or a common power supply caused by digital circuit and/or mixed-signal circuit's operation. The better reverse isolation an LDO has, the lower noise of digital circuit and/or mixed-signal circuit may inject to a common ground and/or a common power supply. It should be appreciated that the illustration of the AC components herein are simplified and not drawn to scale, and provided only for illustration purpose.
LDOs may be configured to have high PSRR and good reverse isolation, according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of such an LDO 200, which may convert an input power supply Vin to an output power supply V_OUT at an output node 208. The output power supply V_OUT may be provided to a loading circuit (not shown). The output power supply V_OUT may include a DC component 216D overlaid with an AC component 216A that may have a magnitude Δ. The AC component 216A may correspond to ripples at least in part caused by adjacent circuits through a common ground and/or a common power supply.
The LDO 200 may include a core circuitry 202 having a current I1 flowing therethrough, and a reverse isolation circuitry 204 having a current 12 flowing therethrough. In some embodiments, the core circuitry 202 may be configured to provide the output power supply V_OUT at the output node 208. In some embodiments, the core circuitry 202 may be configured to operate with a bandwidth lower than that of the reverse isolation circuitry 204 such that the core circuitry 202 provides DC and low frequency functions. In some embodiments, the core circuitry 202 may be configured to attenuate ripples from the power supply Vin such that the LDO 200 has high PSRR.
The reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configured to respond to the ripples at the output node 208. In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configured to operate with high bandwidth (e.g., in the range of 40 MHz to 160 MHz) such that the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may respond to the ripples at the output node 208 faster than the core circuitry 202. In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configured to sense a transient waveform of the output power supply V_OUT at the output node 208 and adjust the current I2 flowing therethrough in response to the AC component 216A of the output power supply V_OUT such that the current I1 flowing through the core circuitry 202 is constant regardless the ripples at the output node 208.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configurable and/or reconfigurable to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 204 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 202. For example, under a first operation condition that may correspond to a first input power supply and/or a first loading circuit coupled to the LDO 200, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configured such that the LDO 200 has a reverse isolation performance of 10 dB. Under a second operation condition that may correspond to a second input power supply and/or a second loading circuit coupled to the LDO 200, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be reconfigured such that the LDO 200 has a reverse isolation performance of 20 dB. Under a third operation condition that may correspond to a third input power supply and/or a third loading circuit coupled to the LDO 200, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be reconfigured such that the LDO 200 has a reverse isolation performance of 15 dB.
In some embodiments, the reverse isolation circuitry 204 may be configurable and/or reconfigurable to adjust the current I2 flowing therethrough in response to the AC component 216A at the output node 208 to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 204 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 202. For example, the current 12 flowing through the core circuitry may be configured to be smaller than an AC component required to fully compensate the ripples at the output node 208. The current I1 flowing through the core circuitry 202 may include a leakage current such as an AC component generated by the core circuitry 202 in response to the ripples at the output node 208 that are not compensated by the current 12.
The LDO 200 with high PSRR and good reverse isolation may be implemented in various configurations. FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of an LDO 300, according to some embodiments. The LDO 300 may include a core circuitry 302 configured to provide an output voltage V_OUT at an output node 308, and a reverse isolation circuitry 304 coupled to the output node 308.
The core circuitry 302 may include a PSRR circuitry 312, a DC circuitry 320, and a decrease gain circuitry 314. The PSRR circuitry 312 may be configured to provide high PSRR. The PSRR circuitry 312 may include a p-type pass transistor MP1, a feedback circuitry 316, an operational amplifier 318, and a compensation circuitry 326. The p-type pass transistor MP1 may be coupled between the output node 308 and a current source 324. The drain-to-source resistance of the p-type pass transistor MP1 may be controlled by a gate voltage V_G such that a stable output voltage V_OUT is generated at the output node 308.
The feedback circuitry 316 may include two resistors R1 and R2 connected in series between the output node 308 and a ground. It should be appreciated that a ground need not be connected to earth ground, but may carry reference potentials, which may include earth ground, DC voltages or other suitable reference potentials. The feedback circuitry 316 may generate a feedback voltage V_FB, which may be a divided voltage of the output voltage V_OUT by the resistors R1 and R2. The operational amplifier 318 may compare the feedback voltage V_FB with a reference voltage V_REF, and generate the gate voltage V_G that may vary depending upon the voltage difference between the reference voltage V_REF and the feedback voltage V_FB.
The compensation circuitry 326 may be coupled to the gate of the p-type pass transistor MP1 to provide desired filtering to the gate voltage V_G and enhance the stability of the output voltage V_OUT. The compensation circuitry 326 may include a capacitor C1 and a resistor R3 connected in series between the gate of the p-type pass transistor MP1 and a ground.
The DC circuitry 320 may be configured to provide a stable output voltage at the output node 308. The DC circuitry 320 may be coupled to the output node 308. The DC circuitry 320 may include a p-type power transistor MP2 between a power supply V_IN and the output node 308. The p-type power transistor MP2 may be configured to provide the output voltage V_OUT at the output node 308. The DC circuitry 320 may include a current source 322 and an n-type transistor MN3 connected in series with the current source 322. The n-type transistor MN3 may be coupled between the output node 308 and the current source 324. A control voltage V_C at the gate of the p-type power transistor MP2 may be determined by the current source 322 and a gate-to-source voltage of the p-type power transistor MP2. The gate of the transistor MN3 may receive a biasing voltage V_BIASN, which may determine a voltage at node 328 that prevents the p-type pass transistor MP1 and current source 324 from entering triode region. A capacitor C2 may be coupled between the power supply V_IN and the gate of the p-type power transistor MP2 and configured to enhance the stability of the output voltage V_OUT. In some embodiments, the capacitor C2 may have a capacitance in the range of 0.1 pF to 5 pF, in the range of 1 PF to 2 PF, or any suitable number in between, which may be significantly smaller than that of capacitors in conventional LDOs.
The decrease gain circuitry 314 may be configured to reduce a gain of the DC circuitry 320. The decrease gain circuitry 314 may be coupled to the output node 308. The decrease gain circuitry 314 may include an n-type transistor MN4 coupled between the output node 308 and the current source 324. The gate of the n-type transistor MN4 may receive the biasing voltage VBIASN .
The reverse isolation circuitry 304 may be configured to provide a current flowing therethrough in response to ripples at the output node 308. The reverse isolation circuitry 304 may include a p-type transistor MP5 and an n-type transistor MN6 connected in series and coupled between the output node 308 and the ground. The p-type transistor MP5 may receive the gate voltage V_G generated by the operational amplifier 318. The reverse isolation circuitry 304 may include a capacitor C3 and a resistor R4 connected in series and coupled between the drain of the n-type transistor MN6 and the ground. The capacitor C3 and resistor R4 may be configured to enhance the gain of the reverse isolation circuitry 304. The gate of the n-type transistor MN6 may be coupled to a node dividing the capacitor C3 and a resistor R4. The transistors MP5 and MN6 may generate a reverse isolation control voltage V_R based at least in part on the gate voltage V_G generated by the operational amplifier 318.
The reverse isolation circuitry 304 may include a reconfigurable n-type transistor MN7 coupled between the output node 308 and the ground. The gate of the reconfigurable n-type transistor MN7 may receive the reverse isolation control voltage V_R. The reconfigurable transistor MN7 may be adjusted based at least in part on the reverse isolation control voltage V_R to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 304 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 302. In some embodiments, the reconfigurable n-type transistor MN7 may include a plurality of n-type transistors connected in parallel. The number of n-type transistors being turned on may be configured based at least in part on the reverse isolation control voltage V_R to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 304 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 302.
The reverse isolation circuitry 304 may include a capacitor C4 and a resistor R5 connected in series and coupled between the gate of the reconfigurable n-type transistor MN7 and the ground. The capacitor C4 and resistor R5 may be configured to enhance the stability of the output voltage V_OUT.
FIG. 4 depicts a schematic diagram of an LDO 400, according to some embodiments. The LDO 400 may include a core circuitry 402 configured to provide an output voltage V_OUT at an output node 408, and a reverse isolation circuitry 404 coupled to the output node 408. The core circuitry 402 may include a PSRR circuitry 412 and a DC circuitry 420. The DC circuitry 420 may be configured similar to the DC circuitry 320 of FIG. 3.
The PSRR circuitry 412 may be configured to provide high PSRR. The PSRR circuitry 412 may include a p-type pass transistor MP41 and a feedback circuitry 416. The p-type pass transistor MP41 may be coupled between the output node 408 and a resistor R. The drain-to-source resistance of the p-type pass transistor MP41 may be controlled by a gate voltage V_4G such that a stable output voltage V_OUT is generated at the output node 408. A capacitor C41 may be coupled to the gate of the pass transistor MP41. The capacitor C41 may be configured for functionalities similar to the capacitor C1 of FIG. 3.
The feedback circuitry 416 may include a p-type transistor MP44 coupled between the output node 408 and a current source 424. The p-type transistor MP44 may receive a gate voltage V_CORE such that the p-type transistor MP44 is turned on when a difference between the gate voltage V_CORE and the output voltage V_OUT is bigger than the threshold voltage of the p-type transistor MP44. The gate voltage V_CORE of the p-type transistor MP44 may be configured to determine a DC component of the output voltage V_OUT. The feedback circuitry 416 may include a gain stage that may include an n-type transistor MN43 coupled between a current source 422 and the ground. The gate of the n-type transistor MN43 may be coupled to the drain of the p-type transistor MP44 such that the drain of the n-type transistor MN43 may generate the gate voltage V_4G based at least in part on the difference between the gate voltage V_CORE and the output voltage V_OUT.
The reverse isolation circuitry 404 may include a reconfigurable p-type transistor MP46 coupled between the output node 408 and the ground. The reconfigurable p-type transistor MP46 may be adjusted based at least in part on the gate voltage V_4G to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 404 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 402. In some embodiments, the reconfigurable transistor p-type MP46 may include a plurality of p-type transistors connected in parallel. The number of p-type transistors being turned on may be configured based at least in part on the gate voltage V_4G to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 404 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 402.
FIG. 5 depicts a schematic diagram of an LDO 500, according to some embodiments. The LDO 500 may include the core circuitry 402 and a reverse isolation circuitry 504. In the illustrated example, the core circuitry 402 is configured to generate an output voltage V_OUT at an output node 508.
The reverse isolation circuitry 504 may include a reconfigurable p-type transistor MP51 coupled between the output node 508 and a resistor R51, a reconfigurable n-type transistor MN52 coupled between the output node 508 and the ground, and a capacitor C51 coupled between the output node 508 and the gate of the reconfigurable transistor MN52. The gate of the reconfigurable p-type transistor MP51 may receive the gate voltage V_4G generated by the feedback circuitry 416 and applied to the gate of the p-type pass transistor MP41. The reconfigurable p-type transistors MP51 and the reconfigurable n-type transistor MN52 may be adjusted based at least in part on the gate voltage V_4G to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry 504 and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry 402.
Although the LDO illustrated in FIG. 5 include the core circuitry 402 and the reverse isolation circuitry 504, it should be appreciated that an LDO may include any suitable core circuitry including, for example, one of the core circuitry 302 and core circuitry 402. An LDO may also include any suitable reverse isolation circuitry including, for example, one of the reverse isolation circuitry 308, reverse isolation circuitry 408, and reverse isolation circuitry 508.
Although the illustrated examples of FIGs. 3-5 show transistors being implemented in particular types (e.g., n-type or p-type), it should be appreciated that the transistors may be implemented differently. For example, the n-type transistors in the examples may be implemented as p-type transistors while the p-type transistors in the examples may be implemented as n-type transistors.
LDOs in accordance with some embodiments have better reverse isolation performance than conventional LDOs. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an RF spur measurement result of a conventional LDO. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of illustrating an RF spur measurement result of an LDO, according to some embodiments. It can be clearly seen in FIGs. 6A and 6B that, for example, the ripples (e.g., the unwanted signals labeled "2"-"5") are better suppressed by an LDO in accordance with some embodiments compared with a conventional LDO.
LDOs in accordance with some embodiments have better reverse isolation performance than conventional LDOs. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating reverse isolation performance of a conventional LDO. FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of illustrating reverse isolation performance of an LDO, according to some embodiments. It can be clearly seen in FIGs. 7A and 7B that, for example, at 80 MHz, an LDO in accordance with some embodiments has a reverse isolation performance of about 22 dB while a conventional LDO has a much worse reverse isolation performance of about 114 mdB.
Various aspects of the apparatus and techniques described herein may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specially discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing description and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.
The terms "approximately", "substantially," and "about" may be used to mean within ±20% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±10% of a target value in some embodiments, within ±5% of a target value in some embodiments, and yet within ±2% of a target value in some embodiments.
Use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having," "containing," "involving," and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

Claims

A low-dropout regulator comprising:
a core circuitry (202, 302, 402) providing an output voltage to an output node; and

a reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) coupled to the output node and configured to provide a current flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry (12) in response to ripples at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of claim 1, wherein
the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) is configured with bandwidth higher than that of the core circuitry (202, 302, 402) such that the reverse isolation circuitry responds to the ripples at the output node faster than the core circuitry.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) is configured such that a current (I1) flowing through the core circuitry (202, 302, 402) is constant regardless the ripples at the output node or an alternating current (AC) component of the current (I1) flowing through the core circuitry (202, 302, 402) is smaller than an AC component required to respond to the ripples at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) adjusts the current (12) flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry based on the magnitude of the ripples at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) comprises
a transistor (MP5, MP46, MP51) coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage (VG, V4G) generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of claim 5, wherein
the transistor (MN7, MP46) of the reverse isolation circuitry is a plurality of transistors connected in parallel.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein the core circuitry comprises
a transistor (MP1, MP41) coupled to the output node and having a gate node controlled by a gate voltage (VG, V4G) generated based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the transistor of the core circuitry is a pass transistor receiving a power supply voltage to generate the output voltage at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein the core circuitry comprises
a direct current (DC) circuitry (320, 420) coupled to the output node and comprising a power transistor (MP2, MP42) configured to provide the output voltage at the output node, and
a power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) circuitry (312, 412) coupled to the output node and configured to provide a high PSRR
The low-dropout regulator of claim 9, wherein the PSRR circuitry comprises
an operational amplifier (318) configured to provide a gate voltage based at least in part on the output voltage at the output node, and
a capacitor (C1) coupled to the gate voltage.
The low-dropout regulator of claim 10, wherein the core circuitry comprises
a decrease gain circuitry (314) coupled to the output node and configured to reduce a gain of the DC circuitry.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) is configured to adjust the current (12) flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry in response to ripples at the output node.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the current (12) flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry is adjusted at least in part to trade off between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry (202, 302, 402).
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the current (12) flowing through the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) is configurable and/or reconfigurable.
The low-dropout regulator of any preceding claim, wherein
the reverse isolation circuitry (204, 304, 404, 504) comprises a plurality of transistors (MN7, MP46) connected in parallel, and
one or more of the plurality of transistors are turned on depending on a tradeoff between power consumed by the reverse isolation circuitry and a leakage current flowing through the core circuitry.